Best Inbound Marketing Certifications (Free & Paid)

Inbound marketing courses are how professionals in the promotional world learn to leverage content to engage users and improve brand reach.

Notably, these lessons focus more on content creation than broader digital marketing certifications, which teach how to use all kinds of digital marketing channels, including both outbound and inbound strategies.

To help you earn your own inbound marketing certification, we’ve conducted extensive research into the top courses on the web, to bring you the most useful, lucrative lessons. So, if you want to learn inbound marketing, these are the best inbound marketing certifications to consider.

Top Inbound Marketing Certifications

1. Digital Marketing Certification (Reliablesoft)
2. Inbound Marketing Course (Udemy)
3. Inbound Marketing Certification (HubSpot)
4. Inbound Marketing Courses (Impact)
5. Promote a Business With Content (Google Digital Garage)

1. Digital Marketing Certification (Reliablesoft)

One of the best training courses to learn inbound marketing is the Digital Marketing Full Course by Reliablesoft Academy. This certification bundle includes 6 courses covering all areas of inbound marketing. In particular:

• Keyword Research - you'll learn how to perform keyword research and find topics and search terms your target audience is searching for in Google and other search engines.
• SEO - you'll learn how to optimize your website and content for search engines and users.
• Google Analytics - you'll learn how to use Google Analytics to monitor and measure what actions users perform on your site and how they interact with your content.
• Content Marketing - you'll learn how to create the right type of content to engage and nurture your users.
• Email Marketing- you'll learn how to use email marketing to connect with your potential users and "convince" them to become customers without spamming.
• Social Media Marketing- you'll learn how to use social media marketing to boost your inbound marketing efforts.

Why enroll in this course?

One of the biggest benefits of enrolling in this course is that you'll get a clear understanding of how to implement a successful inbound marketing strategy.

You'll learn from renowned experts how to use proven inbound marketing techniques to engage, nurture and delight your users with the ultimate goal of increasing conversions.

Upon completion of the course, you can pursue an accredited Digital Marketing Certification to showcase your skills to future employers or clients.

In addition, the bundle includes 4 more courses to learn how other marketing channels like Google Ads and Facebook Ads can help you dramatically improve the results from your inbound marketing campaigns.

It's a highly-rated course that comes with a 60-day money-back guarantee.

2. Inbound Marketing Course (Udemy)

Brimming with actionable advice on enhancing your content strategy, Udemy’s inbound marketing course with Alex Genadinik is an excellent way to learn inbound marketing skills fast.

The lessons come with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you‘re protected if you don’t think you’ve got your money’s worth in the first month.

Alex uses his knowledge as a 3-time bestselling author, entrepreneur, and marketing expert to guide learners from all backgrounds through the most essential steps of successful inbound marketing.

You’ll get real use cases as examples, and step-by-step instructions on how to turn visitors, into leads and then repeat customers.

Why enroll in this course?

The comprehensive inbound marketing course from Udemy contains volumes of valuable information about how to make your content more engaging and effective. Alex discusses important concepts, like how to upgrade the quality of your headlines, and track the lifecycle of a piece of content.

You’ll also get insights into things like how to “warm your leads” and begin nurturing prospects over email. Plus, Alex provides additional instruction on how to use things like Google Ads and Google Analytics to unlock new sales opportunities.

If you want an end-to-end overview of how to enhance the customer lifecycle, this could be the ideal course for you. You’ll learn how to:

• Analyze your customers and understand their content consumption.
• Track and respond to important results on Google.
• Create, promote, and update content for brand growth.
• Warm and nurture leads with email.
• Manage customer journeys from onboarding to offboarding.

Every lesson is divided into bite-sized chunks of genuinely useful information, so you can take dozens of tips away from just an hour of learning. You’ll also get a certification at the end of your course, so it’s great for improving your credibility as an inbound marketing professional.

3. Inbound Marketing Certification (HubSpot)

One of the most popular inbound marketing courses on the web is the Inbound Marketing Certification from HubSpot.

Produced by one of the biggest marketing companies in the world, this educational experience offers a comprehensive guide to all-things inbound marketing.

Split into a series of 8 lessons and 34 videos, the short, but all-inclusive classes are ideal for beginners and thriving marketing professionals alike.

With the help of HubSpot personalities like Justin Champion, Jorie Munroe, and Crystal King, you’ll learn about how to better understand your target audience and create campaigns that really speak to people.

HubSpot introduces pivotal inbound marketing concepts in an easy-to-digest and engaging way.

You’ll discover what it means to create “topic clusters” and pillar pages, and how they contribute to your conversion strategy. There’s even a segment dedicated to social media.

Why enroll in this course?

HubSpot’s inbound marketing certification is the gold standard for the industry at the time of writing. Not only is it completely free, but the course also comes with an impressive certificate of completion, which you can use to add extra sparkle to your resume. It's actually listed as one of the best free certifications you can pursue online.

Each lesson in the course curriculum has its own value to offer. You’ll start by learning about the basics of inbound marketing, and how shopper behavior is changing, before moving on to an understanding of “conversational growth”.

HubSpot also tackles somewhat more advanced concepts in this course, like how to align your marketing with sales to increase conversions, and nurture leads for better returns from repeat customers. Throughout the lessons, you’ll learn how to:

• Apply a customer-first approach to marketing, to strengthen relationships.
• Align sales and marketing campaigns for stronger conversions.
• Use lead nurturing techniques to improve customer lifetime value.
• Develop conversational growth strategies with content.
• Use social media to promote your content.
• Build pillar pages and topic clusters.

Your account from HubSpot also comes filled with personalized training tips tailored to you, so you can get extra advice on how to expand your knowledge next.

4. Inbound Marketing Courses (Impact)

The inbound marketing training courses from Impact Plus are actually a series of learning opportunities, aligned by Paul D. Grant. Thanks to the unique modular approach, you can decide which courses you want to take, based on your specific learning goals, and ignore the content which might not be relevant to you.

The library of classes starts with insights into the fundamentals of inbound marketing, and how to align sales and marketing. Lessons also include:

• How to write the “big 5”: Covering crucial pieces of content like “cost articles”, “comparison articles”, “best of” articles, “honest problems” articles, and reviews.
• 6 topics subject matter experts need to address: With insights into why certain topics are more important than others to help drive conversions.
• Assignment Selling: How to use content in the sales process and educate customers.
• The Revenue Team Approach to sales enablement content: How to produce sales enablement content by aligning marketing and sales.
• Inbounder’s guide to email marketing: Guidance on how to master the email marketing campaign, and nurture consumers with emails.
• Video sales and marketing strategy: How to implement and use video in marketing campaigns.

With dozens of lessons to choose from, you can discover everything from how to apply the philosophy of “visual” sales, to how to build a business website, and even how to master social media content.

Why enroll in this course?

The selection of inbound marketing courses offered by Impact is an excellent, and comprehensive way to get all the information you might need about using content to make more sales.

You’ll get behind-the-scenes insights on how to leverage the latest sales and marketing technology, as well as how to manage your reputation in a digital marketplace.

The Impact courses also include a lot of topics not covered by other inbound marketing lessons, like how to leverage B2B marketing on LinkedIn. Some of the things you learn include how to:

• Optimize Google my business listings
• Create content for different stages in the sales funnel
• Improve your reputation with email, content, and social media marketing.
• Work with content managers or become one yourself.
• Invest in proven strategies to boost marketing results

The best thing about these courses is how flexible they are. You can mix and match the modules most suitable for your needs from the various content options provided.

5. Promote a Business With Content (Google Digital Garage)

Offered by the world-leading experts at Google, this inbound marketing training course guides you through the process of using content to promote your business.

Since inbound marketing methodologies revolve primarily around the use of valuable content, this course is perfect for beginners getting their heads around what kind of pieces to produce.

Because it’s offered by Google, you also know you’re getting insights from the company responsible for deciding which pages are ranked highest in the search results each day.

The free learning experience covers how to use tools like social media, video, and blogging to your advantage when building connections with your audience.

Why enroll in this course?

Easy to follow for beginners, and brimming with actionable advice, the Google content-focused course uses video tutorials and tips to teach you everything you need to know about the power of content marketing.

The course starts with Google-approved guidance on how to optimize your content marketing with high-value blogs and articles.

Other modules include how to use social media to reach your customers wherever they are and promote your content, as well as how to access video to boost audience engagement.

You’ll even get behind-the-scenes tips on how to optimize your website for SEO. During Google’s course, you’ll learn how to:

• Integrate video and engaging visuals into your content marketing strategy.
• Create ad campaigns to boost your chances of awareness.
• Optimize your website and content to attract organic traffic.
• Promote your brand effectively on the right social media channels.
• Create compelling and engaging content for your audience.

The course is completely free and available to take at your own pace, with each section featuring assessment elements, so you can put your new skills to the test.

If you’re looking for an easy way to start unlocking the benefits of content, this could be the course for you.

For more training options from Google, check this guide - Best Google Certifications.

Benefits of Inbound Marketing Certification

Inbound marketing may just be one aspect of a comprehensive advertising strategy today, but it’s one of the most valuable tools most companies have.

As customers grow increasingly exhausted with old-fashioned outbound marketing techniques, inbound strategies offer a more effective way to develop long-term, valuable relationships with your audience.

Whether you’re a digital marketing expert hoping to increase your skills, a specialist trying to attract more clients, or a business leader investing in marketing campaigns, inbound marketing courses offer a lot of value.

Some of the biggest benefits of taking these lessons include:

• Stay up-to-date: Marketing trends and strategies are constantly changing as customer preferences evolve. With an inbound marketing course, you’ll learn about the latest techniques you can use to attract the attention of your target audience, earn their loyalty, and increase potential conversions.
• Improve your credibility: Many of the top inbound marketing courses come with certifications designed to showcase your skills to potential employers or clients. With the right course, you can improve your chances of getting a better job, or convincing customers to work with you in the future.
• Increased results: Inbound marketing lessons teach you how to get the most out of every marketing campaign, so you can drive better results either for your business, or your clients. Throughout your course, you’ll learn how to do everything from writing better headlines to attract customers to content, to how you can promote campaigns on social media.

With many customers now using ad-blocker technology to avoid old-fashioned outbound advertising strategies and sending cold emails straight to spam, inbound marketing skills are becoming a necessity.

Any marketer hoping to thrive in the years ahead will need to know how to collect leads and nurture them through inbound efforts.

Inbound Marketing Jobs

An inbound marketing training course is one of the best ways to improve your chances of unlocking new opportunities for employment.

With inbound marketing doubling the average site conversion rate from 6 to 12% for most companies, demand for these promotional skills is on the rise. Just some of the roles you could potentially consider with an inbound marketing certification include:

1. Content strategist or specialist

A content marketing specialist, strategist, or marketer is perhaps the most common role for someone with skills in inbound marketing. The inbound advertising methodology focuses heavily on the use of content to attract, convert, and retain potential customers.

As a content strategist, your role will focus mostly on developing big-picture plans for a wider content marketing team. This might include looking up keywords and planning content schedules based on what you know about the target customer or a specific audience.

Content specialists and marketers are more likely to be involved with the production of content, writing blogs, and recording videos.

Average income: $61,306 per year.

2. Inbound marketing specialist

An inbound marketing specialist is a professional focused specifically on inbound marketing. You might work on a consultant basis, guiding your clients through the basics of inbound marketing, and how they can set up their own content-based strategies.

Inbound marketing specialists often work with comprehensive marketing teams to come up with promotional schedules and strategies according to the specific goals of the company in question. These specialists can also train other people within a team on how to use inbound marketing methods.

Many inbound marketing specialists focus heavily on building content marketing plans, but they could look at other elements of inbound marketing too, like promotion through social media, and how to build nurturing strategies through email.

Average income: $66,381 per year.

3. SEO Specialist

To succeed with inbound marketing, you need a strong knowledge of your target audience. However, you also need to know how to capture your customer’s attention and pull them toward your business. An SEO specialist uses deep knowledge of things like keywords and search engine algorithms to build a better organic presence for clients online.

SEO specialists will generally need to be comfortable working with metrics and using tracking tools like Google Analytics to prove their value to their boss. SEO specialists can also use the research they conduct into search engine opportunities to produce content for an inbound marketing campaign.

Most SEO specialists work closely with social media managers and other marketing professionals to build a comprehensive strategy for online success.

Average salary: $47,752 per year.

Other job opportunities

Notably, people with skills in inbound marketing can work in a wide range of entry-level digital marketing jobs, helping with all kinds of content management and production.

You may focus your skills on a specific part of the content landscape, as a blog writer, or get involved with social media marketing. You could also produce email marketing campaigns.

Some inbound marketing experts also choose to expand their skills and learn about other promotional methods with digital marketing courses too.

Time to Learn Inbound Marketing?

Demand for inbound marketing is on the rise as customers demand deeper, more meaningful interactions with the brands they buy from. To succeed in today’s competitive world, you need to demonstrate constant value to your customers and prove your credibility.

Inbound marketing strategies allow you to strengthen your reputation and earn new conversion opportunities at the same time. With an inbound marketing course, you can learn everything you need to know about developing stronger relationships with your audience.